In a game obsessed with and sometimes overwhelmed by numbers, pitch counts may very well be the granddaddy of them all.

They have replaced eyesight as a way of recognizing a tiring pitcher. It has turned starting pitching from a seven- to nine-inning job into a five- to six-inning vocation.

To the uninitiated fan, pitch counts can lead to head-scratching questions such as: Why did they take him out? Or, why is the guy who hasn’t allowed a hit being lifted after six innings?

Major league teams invest plenty of money in their pitchers. It’s in their interest to keep hurlers healthy and that’s led to declining pitch counts.

Baseball’s changed drastically since Binghamton Rumble Ponies pitching coach Frank Viola retired in 1996. During Viola’s 15-year major-league career, he started 421 games and finished with 74 complete games and 16 shutouts. Eleven times Viola threw more than 200 innings, including 1989 when he threw his high of 261 innings for the Minnesota Twins and New York Mets.

Six pitchers combined to start 26 of Binghamton’s first 29 games this season. Nabil Crismatt, Joseph Shaw, Andrew Church, Mickey Jannis, Marcos Molina and Scott Copeland have totaled 458 professional starts. They’ve thrown 16 complete games and four shutouts. Copeland’s’ 164 2/3 innings in 2014 are the most by the Rumble Ponies sextet.

"When I played, the closer came into play,” said Viola, Cy Young winner for the Twins in 1988. “So I wanted to go eight innings every time. Fast forward a few more years and now you have a set-up man, so now you’re thinking seven innings. Then you make the rule that six innings and three runs is a quality start. A 4.50 ERA is a quality start? Who came up with that?

“But now, six innings is a magical number. We have analytical stuff where guys can’t get through a lineup three times because they’re getting hit. Now you have guys making X amount of money to pitch five or six innings.”

Former Minnesota Twins pitcher and Binghamton Rumble Ponies pitching coach Frank Viola, seen here being introduced in Minnesota to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Twins' 1987 World Series team, said pitch counts have had a profound impact on the game since he retired in 1996.(Photo: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports)

Copeland, a 30-year-old right-hander who appeared in five games for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015, played for Triple-A New Orleans last season. Early on, he had a no-hitter going through seven innings.

Asked if his career has benefited from the cautious approach teams take with pitchers, Copeland said: “Being taken out after seven innings, no-hit last year? After 70 pitches? No, I didn’t benefit at all. They sent me out after throwing 70 pitches last year, but it was early in the season. It was the second start of the season. I understand what happened, but I’m never going to (have a no-hitter that late in a game) again. I don’t understand why they wouldn’t let me go.

“You just go out there and play and if it happens, it happens and you deal with it after. You’re in the heat of the moment. You’re probably going to say a couple words you regret, but that’s all part of it.”

Last Saturday, Copeland -- promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas on Friday -- started the first game of a doubleheader against New Hampshire. He limited the Fisher Cats to one run on three hits through five innings and didn’t show a hint of fatigue.

Rumble Ponies manager Luis Rojas said Copeland – making his second start of the season -- was on an 80-85 pitch count. He was pulled after throwing 72 pitches.

Shaw made it through five innings of the second game, allowing two runs on five hits. He had to work within a 90- to 100-pitch framework and finished with 91.

Pitchers appear to be aware of pitch limits and it can affect the way they throw.

“My goal as a starter is go deep into the game, seven or eight innings,” Binghamton right-hander Church said. “It’s completely frustrating when I reach my pitch count in the fifth inning.

“I’m someone who has gone deep into games. A couple years ago I threw a complete game on 89 pitches. For me, I try to get contact early. I try to get people out in four pitches or fewer and (pitch counts are) the reason.”

Gone are the days when the likes of Hall of Famer Juan Marichal threw 15-inning complete games, Rojas said.

“I don’t know what the pitch count was then,” Rojas said of Marichal, who threw in the big leagues from 1960-75, eclipsed 300 innings three times and finished with 244 complete games. “I don’t know the difference between then and now. Our organization says if you throw 100 pitches, you’ll have less surgeries.

“I still hear of guys getting Tommy Johns even though they’re in a controlled number of innings and pitches. It’s something I would like to know. We just follow the Mets’ program.”

Apr 7, 2018; Binghamton, NY, USA; Portland Sea Dogs second baseman Josh Tobias (24) hits a home run during the second inning of the game against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies at NYSEG Stadium. Gregory Fisher, Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

According to Tommy John Surgery List (@MLBPlayerAnalysis), 125 professional baseball players have had Tommy John Surgery since the start of 2017, including 111 pitchers.

“It’s your job to keep your arm healthy and I feel like it’s gotten away from that, giving pitchers less accountability on that,” Church said. “… I’ve heard that people get injured more now.”

The number in today’s game seems to be 100 pitches for starters. Viola, for one, isn’t a fan of the cookie-cutter approach.

“Some guys get stronger at 100 pitches and some guys are exhausted at 60 pitches,” he said.

Given a scenario where each pen at NYSEG Stadium went dry at the same time, all the computers shut down and five innings into a game no one had a pitch count, Viola was asked if he could identify a fatigued pitcher by simply watching him.

“If you’ve been around the game long enough, if you’ve seen the game, you’ll know exactly when a guy is tiring,” he said. “A guy’s dropping his arm, a guy’s rushing, whatever the case may be. People who have a feel for the game know. We know their makeup better than any computer.”